2014年英语专业八级考试全真模拟试卷(三)

2014年3月22日英语专八考试真题参考答案完整版听力Mini-lecture1. physical2. a demand3. blood pressure4. Category5. a job6. signals7. body or mind8. advantage9. accept 10. reasonable speed听力Interview1. To work out a plan …2. was much worried …3. To take prompt …4. Refugees returning to normal …5. talk to different …听力NEWS BROADCAST6. Cancellation of flights …7. Three human fossils8. It supported..9. some international …10. Surprised阅读理解答案阅读理解答案11.A have 12.C to offer 13.B to provide 14.D decide 15.A cultuer 16.B perfered 17.D similar 18.D easy 19.B unapproachalbe 20.D sociable21.B say 22.B sociabel 23.A young 24.D 25C26.D role 27.C effects 28.B offer29.D exercise 30.A features人文知识答案人文知识答案31．Montreal32．Maoris33. Anglicanism34．177635．Ernest Hemingway36．George Bernard Shaw 37．Geoffrey Chaucer38．bare39．Mary40．Lion改错答案改错答案 1.把of 去掉。

专业英语八级模拟试卷431(题后含答案及解析) 题型有： 3. GENERAL KNOWLEDGEPART III GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)Directions: There are ten multiple-choice questions in this section. Choose the best answer to each question.1．Percy Bysshe Shelly did not writeA．Song of Myself.B．Prometheus Unbound.C．Ode to the West Wind.D．Queen Mab.正确答案：A解析：Percy Bysshe Shelly(珀西·比希·雪莱)是英国浪漫主义时期代表诗人，著作有Prometheus Unbound(《解放了的普罗米修斯》)，Ode to the West Wind(《西风颂》)和Queen Mab(《麦布女王》)等。

Song of Myself(《自我之歌》)的作者是Walt Whitman(沃尔特·惠特曼)。

知识模块：人文知识2．______ is not a modernist novelist of Britain.A．James JoyceB．Virginia WoolfC．D. H. LawrenceD．Henry James正确答案：D解析：James Joyce(詹姆斯·乔伊斯)。

Virginia Woolf(弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙)和D．H．Lawrence(D．H．劳伦斯)都是英国现代主义小说家。

Henry James(亨利·詹姆斯)是19世纪英国小说家。

知识模块：人文知识3．Systemic-Functional Grammar is______theory.A．Chomsky’sB．Saussure’sC．Halliday’sD．Sapir’s正确答案：C解析：Systemic-Functional Grammar(系统功能语法)是Halliday(韩礼德)的一种具有社会学倾向的功能语言学处理方法。

TEXT C In most of the human civilization of which we have any proper records, youth has drawn on either art or life for models, planning to emulate the heroes depicted in epics on the shadow —— play screen or the stage, or those known human beings, fathers or grandfathers, chiefs or craftsmen, whose every characteristic can be studied and imitated. As recently as 1910, this was the prevailing condition in the United States. If he came from a non-literate background, the recent immigrant learned to speak, move, and think like an American by using his eyes and ears on the labor line and in the homes of more acculturated cousins, by watching school children, or by absorbing the standards of the teacher, the foreman, the clerk who served him in the store. For the literate and the literate children of the non-literate, there was art —— the story of the frustrated artist in the prairie town of the second generation battling with the limitations of the first. And at a simpler level, there were the Western and Hollywood fairy tales which pointed a moral but did not, as a rule, reach table manners. With the development of the countermovement against Hollywood, with the efflorescence of photography, with Time-Life-Fortune types of reporting and the dead-pan New York manner of describing the life of an old-clothes dealer in a forgotten street or of presenting the "accurate", "checked" details of the lives of people whose eminence gave at least a sort of license to attack them, with the passion for "human documents" in Depression days —— a necessary substitute for proletarian art among middle-class writers who knew nothing about proletarians, and middle-class readers who needed the shock of verisimilitude —— a new era in American life was ushered in. It was the era in which young people imitated neither life nor art nor fairy tale, but instead were presented with models drawn from life with minimal but crucial distortions. Doctored life histories, posed carelessness, "candid" shots of people in their own homes which took hours to arrange, pictures shot from real life to script written months before supplemented by national polls and surveys which assured the reader that this hobby socks did indeed represent a national norm or a growing trend —— replaced the older models. 43. This article is based on the idea that ____ A) people today do not look for models to imitate. B) whom we emulate is not important. C) people generally pattern their lives after models. D) heroes are passed. 44. Stories of the second generation battling against the limitation of the first were often responsible for ____ A) inspiring literate immigrants. B) frustrating educated immigrants. C) preventing the assimilation of immigrants. D) instilling into immigrants an antagonistic attitude toward their forebears. 45. The counter movement against Hollywood was a movement ____ A) toward fantasy. B) against the teachings of morals. C) towards realism. D) away from realism. 46. The author attribute the change in attitude since 1920 to ____ A) a logical evolution of ideas. B) widespread of moral decay. C) the influence of the press. D) a philosophy of plenty. TEXT D During the holiday I received no letter from Myrtle and when I returned to the town she had gone away. I telephoned each day until she came back, and then she said she was going to a party. I put up with her new tactics patiently. The next time we spent an evening together there was no quarrel. To avoid it I took Myrtle to the cinema. We did not mention Haxby. On the other hand it was impossible to pretend that either of us was happy. Myrtles expression of unhappiness was deepening. Day by day I watched her sink into a bout of despair, and I concluded it was my fault —— had I not concluded it was my fault, the looks Myrtle gave me would rapidly have concluded it for me. The topic of conversation we avoidedabove all others was the project of going to America. I cursed the tactlessness of Robert and Tom in talking about it in front of her before I had had time to prepare her for it. I felt aggrieved, as one does after doing wrong and being found out. I did not know what to do. When you go to the theatre you see a number of characters caught in a dramatic situation. What happens next? They then everything is changed. My life is different I never have scenes, and I if I do, they are discouragingly not dramatic. Practically no action arises. And nothing what so ever is changed. My life is not as good as a play. Nothing like it. All I did with my present situation was try and tide it over. When Myrtle emerged from the deepest blackness of despair —— nobody after all, could remain there definitely —— I tried to comfort her. I gradually unfolded all my plan, including those for her. She could come to America, too. She was a commercial artist. She could get a job and our relationship could continue as it was. And I will not swear that I did not think:" And in America she might even succeed in marrying me." It produced no effect. She began to drink more. She began to go to parties very frequently; it was very soon clear that she had decided to see less of her. I do not blame Myrtle. Had I been in her place I would have tried to do the same thing. Being in my place I tried to prevent her. I knew what sort of parties she was going to: they were parties at which Haxby was present. We began to wrangle over going out with each other. She was never free at the times I suggested. Sometimes, usually on a Saturday night, she first arranged to meet me and then changed her mind. I called that rubbing it in a little too far. But her behavior, I repeat, perfectly sensible. By seeing less of me she stood a chance of finding somebody else, or of making me jealous, or of both. Either way she could not lose. 47. When Myrtle was avoiding the author he ____ A) saw through her plan and behave calmly. B) became angry and could not put her out of his mind. C) was worried and uncomprehending. D) decided that he could not bear the way she treated him. 48. The author felt guilty and angry because ____ A) his friends had discovered that he had not told Myrtle anything. B) Tom and Robert had told Myrtle about their plans. C) Myrtle had found out their plans when Tom and Robert talked. D) he had told Myrtle their plans before Tom and Robert mentioned them. 49. The author complains that his life was not like a play in which ____ A) the characters solve their problems by violence. B) the violence that follows action solves their problems. C) the action that follows quarrels solves their problems. D) the characters solved their problems in spite of violence. 50. The real reason why Myrtle was angry and upset was that ____ A) she had never wanted to go to America with the author. B) the author would not agree to take her as his wife. C) she did not want him to go to America with his enemies. D) she did not want to be felt behind in America.。

2014年英语专业八级真题及详解TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2014)-GRADE EIGHT-TIME LIMIT: 150 MIN PART ⅠLISTENING COMPREHENSION [25 MIN]SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the mini-lecture, please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.Now listen to the mini-lecture. When it is over, you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.How to Reduce StressLife is full of things that cause us stress. Though we may not like stress, we have to live with it.1. ____【答案】physical【解析】细节题。

这篇讲座主要围绕压力展开。

专业英语八级（改错）模拟试卷322(题后含答案及解析)题型有： 3. LANGUAGE USAGEPART III LANGUAGE USAGEFor the most part, the thousands of languages in the world today fall into one of two categories: tonal or nontonal. Two linguists believe they know the genetic underpinnings for these differences. During a study of linguisticand genetic data from 49 distinctive populations, the authors discovered a 【M1】______struck correlation between two genes involved in brain development and 【M2】______language tonality. Populations who speak nontonal languages have newer 【M3】______versions of the genes, with mutations that began to appear roughly 37thousand years before. ““You can consider this as the first of the many pos- 【M4】______sible studies that we could do to try to find a genetic basis for language and language typology and the different populations that speak a language,”“says Patrick Wong, the assistant professor at Northwestern University, who 【M5】______was not involved in this study. In English, the pitch which a word is spoken 【M6】______convey emotion but usually does not affect its meaning. But in many 【M7】______languages tone changes the meaning of words. For instance, the Chineseword huar said in a high pitch means flower, but in a dipping pitch meaning 【M8】______picture. The new research ties this difference to those two genes. The exact 【M9】______functions of both genes are still open to debate, so they are known to affect 【M10】______brain size during embryonic development. They presumably have something to do with brain structure, because there are mutations of the genes that lead to microcephaly, a condition in which a person’s brain is much smaller than the average size for his or her age.1．【M1】正确答案：distinctive —distinct解析：distinctive的意思是“特殊的，特别的”，distinct的意思是“有区别的，不同的”。

2014年英语专业八级真题及详解TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS(2014)-GRADE EIGHT-TIME LIMIT:150MIN PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION(25MIN)SECTION A MINI-LECTUREIn this section you will hear a mini-lecture.You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY.While listening to the mini-lecture,please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s)you fill in is(are)both grammatically and semantically acceptable.You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.Now listen to the mini-lecture.When it is over,you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.How to Reduce StressLife is full of things that cause us stress.Though we may not like stress,we have to live with it.【答案与解析】(1)physical细节题。

这篇讲座主要围绕压力展开。

在提出问题“What is stress”之后，演讲者说到“The term was originally used in physics to describe the force exerted between two touching bodies.That was strictly a term describing a physical reaction”，即stress最初用在物理学中，指两个相互碰撞的物体之间产生的力量，严格地说是一个用来描述物理反应的术语。

TEXT D To get a chocolate out of a box requires a considerable amount of unpacking; the box has to be taken out of the paper bag in which it arrived; the cellophane wrapper has to be torn off, the lid opened and the paper removed; the chocolate itself then has to be unwrapped from its own piece of paper. But this insane amount of wrapping is not confined to luxuries. It is now becoming increasingly difficult to buy anything that is not done up in cellophane, polythene, or paper. The package itself is of no interest to the shopper, who usually throws it away immediately, unless wrapping accounts for much of the refuse put out by the average London household each week. So why is it done? Some of it, like the cellophane on meat, is necessary, but most of the rest is simply competitive selling. This is abused. Packaging is using up scarce energy and resources and messing up the environment. Little reach is being carried out on the costs of alternative types of packaging. Just how possible is it, for instance, for local authorities to salvage paper, pulp it, and recycle it as egg-boxes? Would it be cheaper to plant another forest? Paper is the material most used for packaging —— 20 million paper bags are apparently used in Great Britain each day —— but very little is salvaged. A machine has been developed that pulps paper then processes it into packaging, e.g. egg-boxes and cartons. This could be easily adapted for local authorities use. It would mean that people would have to separate their refuse into paper and non-paper, with a different dustbin for each. Paper is, in fact, probably the material that can be most easily recycled; and now, with massive increases in paper prices, the time has come at which collection by local authorities could be profitable. Recycling of this kind is already happening with milk bottles, which are returned to the dairies, washed out, and refilled. But both glass and paper are being threatened by the growing use of plastic. More and more dairies are experimenting with plastic bottles, and British dairies would be producing the equivalent of enough plastic tubing to encircle the earth every five or six days! The trouble with plastic is that it does not rot. Some environmentalists argue that only solution to the problem of ever growing mounds of plastic containers is to do away with plastic altogether in the shops, a suggestion unacceptable to many manufacturers who say there is no alternative to their handy plastic packs. It is evident that more research is needed into the recovery and re-use of various material and into the cost of collecting and recycling containers as opposed to producing new ones. Unnecessary packaging, intended to be used just once, and making things look better so more people will guy them, is clearly becoming increasingly absurd. But it is not so much a question of doing away with packaging as using it sensibly. What is needed now is a more unimportant function. 45. The "local authorities" are ________. A) the Town council B) the police C) the paper manufacturer D) the most influential citizens 46. If paper is to be recycled ________. A) more forests will have to be planted B) the use of paper bags will have to be restricted C) people will have to use different dustbins for their rubbish D) the local authorities will have to reduce the price of paper 47. The environmentalists think that ________. A) more plastic packaging should be used B) plastic is the most convenient form of packaging C) too much plastic is wasted D) shops should stop using plastic containers TEXT E For me, scientific knowledge is divided into mathematical sciences, natural sciences or sciences dealing with the natural world (physical and biological sciences), and sciences dealing with mankind (psychology, sociology, all the sciences of cultural achievements, every kind of historical knowledge). Apart from these sciences is philosophy, about which we will talk later. In the first place, all this is pure or theoretical knowledge, sought only for the purpose of understanding, in order to fulfill the need to understand that is intrinsic and consubstantial to man. What distinguishes man from animal is that he knows and needs to know. If man did not know that the world existed, and that the world was of a certain kind, that he was in the world and that he himself was of a certain kind, he wouldnt be a man. The technical aspects or applications of knowledge are equally necessary for man and of the greatest importance, because they also contributing to defining him as man and permit him to pursue a life increasingly more truly human. But even while enjoying the results of technical progress, he must defend the primacy and autonomy of pure knowledge. Knowledge sought directly for its practical applications willhave immediate and foreseeable success, but not the kind of important result whose revolutionary scope is in large part unforeseen, except by the imagination of the Utopians. Let me recall a well-known example. If the Greek mathematicians had not applied themselves to the investigation of conic sections zealously and without the least suspicion that it might someday be useful, it would not have been possible centuries later to navigate far from shore. The first men to study the nature of electricity could not imagine that their experiments, carried on because of mere intellectual curiosity, would eventually lead to modern electrical technology without which we can scarcely conceive of contemporary life. Pure knowledge is valuable for its own sake, because the human spirit cannot resign itself to ignorance. But , in addition, it is the foundation for practical results that would not have been reached if this knowledge had not been sought disinterestedly. 48. The most important advance made by mankind come from ________. A) technical applications B) apparently useless information C) the natural sciences D) philosophy 49. In the paragraph that follows this passage, we may except the author to discuss ________. A) the value of technical research B) the value of pure research C) philosophy D) unforeseen discoveries 50. The title below that best expressed the ideas of this passage is ________. A) Technical Progress B) A Little Learning is a Dangerous Thing C) Man's Distinguishing Characteristics D) Learning for its Own Sake SECTION B SKIMMING AND SCANNING Directions: In this section there are seven passages followed by ten multiple-choice questions. Skim or scan them as required and then mark your answers on your answer sheet. TEXT F First read the following question. 51. The painting discussed in the passage can be found in ________. A. Paris, France B. Washington C. New York D. Moscow, Russia Now, go though TEXT E quickly in order to answer question 31. Russian-born Max Weber grew up in New York, studied art there, and then went back to Europe to familiarize himself with contemporary artistic developments. On returning to the United States, Weber worked in the new styles he had discovered in Paris and soon become recognized as a pioneer of American abstract painting. An example of his work at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. is a 1915 painting entitled "Rush Hour, New York." Using abstract, geometrical forms, Weber has expressed the movement, noise, and vibrancy of the great metropolis. The picture blends elements of two European styles: cubism, which shows objects from a number of different angles of vision at the same time, and futurism, which portrays speed and objects in motion. Forceful lines and spiky forms throughout the composition convey the energy and vitality to the city. Weber expresses the citys diversity by juxtaposing forms with rounded and angular shapes to suggest specific elements of the urban landscape: skyscrapers, flashing lights, and hurrying people. 51. The painting discussed in the passage can be found in ________. A) Paris, France B) Washington C) New York D) Moscow, Russia TEXT G First read the following questions. 52. According to the first advertisement, anyone who ________ would receive ten shillings. A. found the umbrella B. gave a message C. left the umbrella at No. 10 Broad Street D. left the umbrellain the City Church 53. This is a story about ________. A. a useless advertisement B. how to make an effective advertisement C. how the man lost and found his umbrella owner D. what the merchant did for the umbrella owner Now read the text quickly and answer questions 33 and 34. A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers. "Last week," said he, "my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present ,I spent twice its worth in advertising, but I didnt get it back." "How did you write your advertisement?" asked one of the listeners, a merchant. "Here it is," said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper. The other man took it and read, "Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No. 10 Broad Street." "Now," said the merchant, "I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try for your umbrella again, and if it fails, Ill buy you a new one." The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote:" If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesnt wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street. He is well known." This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors that had been thrown in, and his own was among the number. Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser mot to say anything about the matter. 52. According to the first advertisement, anyone who ________ would receive ten shillings. A) found the umbrella B) gave a message C) left the umbrella at No. 10 Broad Street D) left the umbrella in the City Church 53. This is a story about ________. A) a useless advertisement B) how to make an effective advertisement C) how the man lost and found his umbrella owner D) what the merchant did for the umbrella owners f i d = " 1 1 7 " > 0 0 T E X T H F i r s t r e a d t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s . 5 4 . W h a t i s t h e w i n g s p a n o f t h e G o s s a m e r A l b a t r o s s ? A . 3 3 k i l o g r a m s B . 1 0 0 m e t e r s . C . 3 0 m e t e r s . D . H a l f o f t h e w i n g s p a n o f a D C - 9 . 5 5 . H o w m u c h p o w e r d i d t h e G o s s a m e r A l b a t r o s s n e e d t o k e e p i t f l y i n g ? A . A s m u c h a s a D C - 9 . B . L e s s t h a n o n e h o r s e p o w e r . C . T h e e h o r s e p o w e r . D . T h i r t y h o r s e p o w e r . N o w g o t h r o u g h T E X T H q u i c k l y i n o r d e r t o a n s w e r 3 3 a n d 3 4 I n J u n e 1 9 7 9 , B r y a n A l l e n , a b i o l o g i s t f r o m C a l i f o r n i a w h o i s a l s o a h a n g - g l i d i n g e n t h u s i a s t a n d a n a m a t e u r r a c i n g c y c l i s t , m a d e h i s t o r y b y p e d a l i n g a c r o s s t h e E n g l i s h C h a n n e l i n t h e G o s s a m e r A l b a t r o s s , a s u p e r - l i gh t , p r o p e l l e r - d r i v e n a i r c r a f t i n v e n t e d b y D r . P a u l M c C r e a d y . T h e G o s s a m e r A l b a t r o s s , a 33 - k i l o g r a m ( 7 2 - p o u n d ) a i r c r a f t w i t h a p o l y t h e n e - c o v e r e d f u s e l a g e a n d a w i n g s p a n o f 3 0 me t e r ( 1 0 0f e e t ) , t h e s a m e a s t h a t o f a D C - 9 j e t a i r l i n e r , w a s d r i v e n m o s t l y b y c o n v e n t i o n a l b i c y c l e c o m p o n e n t s . A l l e n s a t o n a b i c y c l e s a d d l e i n s i d e t h e t r a n s p a r e n t f u s e l ag e a n d p e d a l e d a b i c y c l e c r a n k a n d ch ai n - w h e e l t h a t t u r n e d a s p e c i a l u r e t h a n e c h a i n g e a r e d t h r o u g h t w o m o r e c h a i n - w h e e l s t o a p r o p e l l e r m o u n t e d a f t o f t h e w i n g . S h o r t l y a f t e r d a w n t h a t J u n e d a y , t h e A l b a t r o s s r o l l e d d o w n a h a r b o r e d r u n w a y i n F o l k s t o n e , E n g l a n d . P e d a l i n g h a r d , A l l e n g o t t h e a i r c r a f t a l o f t a n d c h u r n e d h i s w a y t o w a r d F r a n c e . A f t e r a l m o s t t h r e e h o u r s o f p e d a l i n g t o p r o d u c e a c o n s t a n t o u t p u t o f a b o u t 0 . 3 h o r s e p o w e r , h e l a n d e d o n a b e a c h n e a r C a l a i s , t h e f i r s t p e r s o n t o f l y a h u m a n - p o w e r e d c r a f t a c r o s s t h e C h a n n e l . A l l e n a n d a n A m e r i c a n t e a m l e d b y D r . M c C r e a d y w e r e a w a r d e d t h e 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 p r i z e b y H e n r y K r e m e r , a B r i t i s h i n d u s t r i a l i s t , f o r t h e f i r s t s u c c e s s f u l n o n s t o p h u m a n - p o w e r e d f l i g h t a c r o s s t h e E n g l i s h C h a n n e l . A l l e n a n d M c C r e a d y w e r e n o s t r a n g e r s t o h u m a n - p o w e r f l i g h t . T h e y a n d t h e A m e r i c a n t e a m h a d p r e v i o u s l y w o n t h e 2 5 , 0 0 0 K r e m e r p r i z e f o r t h e f i r s t s u c h s u s t a i n e d f l i g h t w h e n t h e y h a d s u c c e s s f u l l y f l o w n a o n e - m i l e f i g u r e - e i g h t c o u r s e i n M c C r e a d y s G o s s a m e r C o n d o r . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 1 8 " > 0 0 5 4 . W h a t i s t h e w i n g s p a n o f t h e G o s s a m e r A l b a t r o s s ? / p > p b d s f i d = "1 1 9 " > 0 0 A ) 3 3 k i l o g r a m s / p > p b d s f i d = " 12 0 " > 0 0 B ) 1 0 0 m e t e r s . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 2 1 " > 0 0 C )3 0 m e t e r s . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 2 2 " > 0 0 D ) H a l f o f t h e w i n g s p a n o f a D C - 9 . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 2 3 " > 0 0 5 5 . H o w m u c h p o w e r d i d t h e G o s s a m e r A l b a t r o s s n e e d t o k e e p i t f l y i n g ? / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 24 " > 0 0 A ) A s m u c h a s a D C - 9 . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 25 " > 0 0 B ) L e s s t h a n o n e h o r s e p o w e r . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 26 " > 0 0 C ) T h e e h o r s e p o w e r . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 27 " > 0 0 D ) T h i r t y h o r s e p o w e r . / p > p b d s f i d =" 1 2 8 " > / p > / d i v > d i v i d = " f l o a t _ b t n " c l a s s = " " b d s f i d = " 1 2 9 " > b u t t o n c l a s s = " f l o a t _ b t n l e f t _ b t n " i d = " c o p y _ b u t t o n " d a t a - c l i p b o a r d - a c t i o n = " c o p y " d a t a - c l i p b o a r d - t a r g e t = " # c o n t e n t - t x t " o n c l i c k = " d o _ c o p y ( ) ; " b d s f i d = " 1 3 0 " > e m c l a s s = " i c o n " b d s f i d = " 1 3 1 " >。

Computers monitor everything in Singapore from soil composition to location of manholes. At the airport, it took just 15 seconds for the computerized immigration system to scan and approve my passport. It takes only one minute to be checked into a public hospital. By 1998, almost every household will be wired for interactive cable TV and the Internet, the global computer network. Shoppers will be able to view and pay for products electronically. A 24-hour community telecomputing network will allow users to communicate with elected representatives and retrieve information about government services. It is all part of the government’s plan to transform the nation into what it calls the “Intelligent Island”. In so many ways, Singapore has elevated the concept of efficiency to a kind of national ideology. For the past ten years, Singapore’s work force was rated the best in the world-ahead of Japan and the U.S.-in terms of productivity, skill and attitude by the Business Environment Risk Intelligence service. Behind the “Singapore miracle” is a man Richard Nixon described as one of “the ablest leaders I have met,” one who, “in other times and other places, might have attained the world stature of a Churchill.” Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore’s struggle for independence in the 1950s, serving as Prime Minister from 1959 until 1990. Today (1995), at 71, he has nominally retired to the office of Senior Minister, where he continues to influence his country’s future. Lee offered companies tax breaks, political stability, cheap labor and strike-free environment. Nearly 90 percent of Singaporean adults now own their own homes and thanks to strict adherence to the principle of merit, personal opportunities abound. “If you’ve got talent and work hard, you can be anything here,” says a Malaysian-born woman who holds a high-level civil-service position. Lee likes to boast that Singapore has avoided the “moral breakdown” of Western countries. He attributes his nation’s success to strong family ties, a reliance on education as the engine of advancement and social philosophy that he claims is superior to America’s. In an interview with Reader’s Digest, he said that the United States has “lost its bearings” by emphasizing individual rights at the expense of society. “An ethical society,” he said, “is one which matches human rights with responsibilities.” 1.What characterizes Singapore’s advancement is its___. puter monitoring. B.work efficiency. C.high productivity. D.value on ethics. 2.From Nixon’s perspective, Lee is___. A.almost as great as Churchill. B.not as great as Churchill. C.only second to Churchill in being a leader. D.just as great as Churchill. 3.In the last paragraph, “lost its bearings” may mean___. A.become impatient. B.failed to find the right position. C.lost its foundation. D.grown band-mannered. 4.“You can be anything here”(Paragraph 5) may be paraphrased as___. A.You can hope for a very bright prospect. B.You may be able to do anything needed. C.You can choose any job as you like. D.You will become an outstanding worker. 5.In Singapore, the concept of efficiency___. A.has been emphasized throughout the country. B.has become an essential quality for citizens to aim at. C.is brought forward by the government in order to compete with America. D.is known as the basis for building the “Intelligent Island.”。

2014年英语专八考试题答案653390834一、阅读理解(共4题，合计20分)In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages.TEXT AWhenever we could, Joan and I took refuge in the streets of Gibraltar. The Englishman's home is his castle because he has not much choice. There is nowhere to sit in the streets of England, not even, after twilight, in the public gardens. The climate, very often, does not even permit him to walk outside. Naturally, he stays indoors and creates a cocoon of comfort. That was the way we lived in Leeds. These southern people, on the other hand, look outwards. The Gibraltarian home is, typically, a small and crowded apartment up several flights of dark and dirty stairs. In it, one, two or even three old people share a few ill-lit rooms with the young family. Once he has eaten, changed his clothes, embraced his wife, kissed his children and his parents, there is nothing to keep the southern man at home. He hurries out, taking even his breakfast coffee at his local bar. He comes home late for his afternoon meal after an appetitive hour at his ear6. He sleeps for an hour, dresses, goes out again and stays out until late at night. His wife does not miss him, for she is out, too — at the market in the morning and in the afternoon sitting with other mothers, baby-minding in the sun.The usual Gibraltarian home has no sitting-room, living-room or lounge. The parlour of our working-class houses would be an intolerable waste of space. Easy-chairs, sofas and such-like furniture are unknown. There are no bookshelves, because there are no books. Talking and drinking, as well as eating, are done on hard chairs round the dining-table, between a sideboard decorated with the best glasses and an inevitable display cabinet full of family treasures, photographs and souvenirs. The elaborate chandelier over this table proclaims it as the hub of the household and of the family. "Hearth and home" makes very little sense in Gibraltar. One's home is one's town or village, and one's hearth is the sunshine.Our northern towns are dormitories with cubicles, by comparison. When we congregate — in the churches it used to be, now in the cinema, say, impersonally, or at public meetings, formally — we are scarcely ever man to man. Only in our pubs can you find the truly gregarious and communal spirit surviving, and in England even the pubs are divided along class lines.Along this Mediterranean coast, home is only a refuge and a retreat. The people live together in the open air — in the street, market-place. Down here, there is a far stronger feeling of community than we had ever known. In crowded and circumscribed Gibraltar, with its complicated inter-marriages, its identity of interests, its surviving sense of siege, one can see and feel an integrated society.To live in a tiny town with all the organization of a state, with Viceroy (总督), Premier, Parliament, Press and Pentagon, all in miniature, all within arm's reach, is an intensive course in civics. In such an environment, nothing can be hidden, for better or for worse. One's successes are seen and recognized;one's failures are immediately exposed. Social consciousness is at its strongest, with the result that there is a constant and firm pressure towards good social behaviour, towards courtesy and kindness. Gibraltar, with all its faults, is the friendliest and most tolerant of places. Straight from the cynical anonymity of a big city, we luxuriated in its happy personalism. We look back on it, like all its exiled sons and daughters, with true affection.我要找茬1 Which of the following best explains the differences in ways of living between the English and the Gibraltarians?[A] The family structure. [B] Religious belief.[C] The climate. [D] Eating habit.选择答案：A B C D不确定答案我要找茬2The italicized part in the third paragraph implies that[A] English working class homes are similar to Gibraltarian ones.[B] English working-class homes have spacious sitting-rooms.[C] English working-class homes waste a lot of space.[D] the English working-class parlour is intolerable in Gibraltar.选择答案：A B C D不确定答案我要找茬3We learn from the description of the Gibraltarian home that it is[A] modern. [B] luxurious. [C] stark. [D] simple.选择答案：A B C D不确定答案我要找茬4There is a much stronger sense of ______ among the Gibraltarians.[A] togetherness [B] survival [C] identity [D] leisure选择答案：A B C D不确定答案我要找茬5According to the passage, people in Gibraltar tend to be well-behaved because of the following EXCEPT[A] the entirety of the state structure, [B] constant pressure from the state.[C] the small size of the town. [D] transparency of occurrences.选择答案：A B C D不确定答案TEXT BFor office innovators, the unrealized dream of the "paperless" office is a classic example of high-tech hubris (傲慢). Today's office drone is drowning in more paper than ever bef ore.But after decades of hype, American offices may finally be losing their paper obsession. T he de2014年专八考试答案653390834mand for paper used to outstrip the growth of the U. S. economy, but the past two or three years have seen a marked slowdown in sales — despite a healthy economic scene.Analysts attribute the decline to such factors as advances in digital databases and comm unication systems. Escaping our craving for paper, however, will be anything but an easy affair."Old habits are hard to break," says Merilyn Dunn, a communications supplies director. " There are some functions that paper serves where a screen display doesn't work. Those f unctions are both its strength and its weakness. "In the early to mid-'90s, a booming economy and improved desktop printers helped boos t paper sales by 6 to 7 percent each year. The convenience of desktop printing allowed o ffice workers to indulge in printing anything and everything at very little effort or cost. But now, the growth rate or paper sales in the United States is flattening by about half a percent each year. Between 2004 and 2005, Ms. Dunn says, plain white office paper will see less than a 4 percent growth rate, despite the strong overall economy. A primary rea son for the change, says Dunn, is that for the first time ever, some 47 percent of the wor kforce entered the job market after computers had already been introduced to offices. "We're finally seeing a reduction in the amount of paper being used per worker in the wo rkplace," says John Maine, vice president of a pulp and paper economic consulting firm. " More information is being transmitted electronically, and more and more people are comfortable with the information residing only in electronic form without printing multiple bac kups. "In addition, Mr. Maine points to the lackluster employment market for white-collar worke rs — the primary driver of office paper consumption — for the shift in paper usage. The real paradigm shift may be in the way paper is used. Since the advent of advanced a nd reliable office-network systems, data storage has moved away from paper archives. T he secretarial art of "filing" is disappearing from job descriptions. Much of today's data m ay never leave its original digital format.The changing attitudes toward paper have finally caught the attention of paper companie s, says Richard Harper, a researcher at Microsoft. "All of a sudden, the paper industry ha s started thinking, 'We need to learn more about the behavioural aspects of paper use, '" he says. "They had never asked, they'd just assumed that 70 million sheets would be bo ught per year as a literal function of economic growth. "To reduce paper use, some companies are working to combine digital and paper capabilit ies. For example, Xerox Corp. is developing electronic paper: thin digital displays that res pond to a stylus, like a pen on paper. Notations can be erased or saved digitally. Another idea, intelligent paper, comes from Anoto Group. It would allow notations made with a stylus on a page printed with a special magnetic ink to simultaneously appear on a computer screen.Even with such technological advances, the improved capabilities of digital storage contin ue to act against "paperlessness," argues Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster. In his prop hetic and metaphorical 1989 essay, "The Electronic Pinata (彩罐)," he suggests that the i ncreasing amounts of electronic data necessarily require more paper."The information industry today is like a huge electronic pinata, composed of a thin pape r crust surrounding an electronic core," Mr. Saffo wrote. The growing paper crust "is mos t noticeable, but the hidden electronic core that produces the crust is far larger — and gr owing more rapidly. The result is that we are becoming paperless, but we hardly notice a t all. "In the same way that digital innovations have increased paper consumption, Saffo says, so has video conferencing — with its promise of fewer in-person meetings — boosting bu siness travel."That's one of the great ironies of the information age ," Saffo says. "It's just common se nse that the more you talk to someone by phone or computer, it inevitably leads to a fac e-to-face meeting. The best thing for the aviation industry was the Internet. "TEXT CWhen George Orwell wrote in 1941 that England was "the most class-ridden country under the sun", he was only partly right. Societies have always had their hierarchies, with so me group perched at the top. In the Indian state of Bihar the Ranveer Sena, an upper-ca ste private army, even killed to stay there.By that measure class in Britain hardly seems entrenched (根深蒂固的). But in another w ay Orwell was right, and continues to be. As a new YouGov poll shows, Britons are surpri singly alert to class 2014年英语专八考试答案653390834— both their own and that of ot hers. And they still think class is sticky. According to the poll, 48% of people aged 30 or over say they expect to end up better off than their parents. But only 28% expect to end up in a different class. More than two-thirds think neither they nor their children will leav e the class they were born into.What does this thing that people cannot escape consist of these days? And what do peop le look at when decoding which class someone belongs to? The most useful identifying m arkers, according to the poll, are occupation, address, accent and income, in that order. The fact that income comes fourth is revealing: though some of the habits and attitudes that class used to define are more widely spread than they were, class still indicates som ething less blunt than mere wealth.Occupation is the most trusted guide to class, but changes in the labour market have ma de that harder to read than when Orwell was writing. Manual workers have shrunk along with farming and heavy industry as a proportion of the workforce, while the number of p eople in white-collar jobs has surged. Despite this striking change, when they were asked to place themselves in a class, Brits in 2006 huddled in much the same categories as the y did when they were asked in 1949. So, jobs, which were once a fairly reliable guide to class, have become misleading.A survey conducted earlier this year by Expertian shows how this convergence on similar types of work has blurred class boundaries. Expertian asked people in a number of differ ent jobs to place themselves in the working class or the middle class. Secretaries, waiters and journalists were significantly more likely to think themselves middle-class than acco untants, computer programmers or civil servants. Many new white-collar jobs offer no m ore autonomy or better prospects than old blue-collar ones. Yet despite the muddle over what the markers of class are these days, 71% of those polled by YouGov still said they f ound it very or fairly easy to figure out which class others belong to.In addition to changes in the labour market, two other things have smudged the borders on the class map. First, since 1945 Britain has received large numbers of immigrants who do not fit easily into existing notions of class and may have their own pyramids to scram ble up. The flow of new arrivals has increased since the late 1990s, multiplying this effect. Second, barriers to fame have been lowered. Britain's fast-growing ranks of celebrities — like David Beckham and his wife Victoria — form a kind of parallel aristocracy open to tal ent, or at least to those who are uninhibited enough to meet the requests of television producers. This too has made definitions more complicated.But many Brits, given the choice, still prefer to identify with the class they were born into rather than that which their jobs or income would suggest. This often entails pretending to be more humble than is actually the case: 220% of white-collar workers told YouGov t hat they consider themselves working class. Likewise, the Expertian survey found that on e in ten adults who call themselves working class are among the richest asset-owners, an d that over half a million households which earn more than $191,000 a year say they are working class. Pretending to be grander than income and occupation suggest is rarer, th ough it happens too.If class no longer describes a clear social, economic or even political status, is it worth pa ying any attention to.9 Possibly, yes. It is still in most cases closely correlated with educa tional attainment and career expectations.TEXT DThe train was whirling onward with such dignity of motion that a glance from the window seemed simply to prove that plains of Texas were pouring eastward. Vast fiats of green grass, dull-hued spaces of mesquite and cactus, little groups of frame houses, woods of li ght and tender trees, all were sweeping into the east, sweeping over the horizon, a preci pice.A newly married pair had boarded this coach at San Antonio. The man's face was redden ed from many days in the wind and sun, and a direct result of his new black clothes was that his brick-coloured hands were constantly performing in a most conscious fashion. Fr om time to time he looked down respectfully at his attire. He sat with a hand on each kn ee, like a man waiting in a barber's shop. The glances he devoted to other passengers w ere furtive and shy.The bride was not pretty, nor was she very young. She wore a dress of blue cashmere, w ith small reservations of velvet here and there, and with steel buttons abounding. She co ntinually twisted her head to regard her puff sleeves, very stiff, and high. They embarras sed her. It was quite apparent that she had cooked, and that she expected to cook, dutif ully. The blushes caused by the careless scrutiny of some passengers as she had entered the car were strange to see upon this plain, under-class countenance, which was drawn in placid, almost emotionless lines.They were evidently very happy. "Ever been in a parlor-car before?" he asked, smiling wi th delight."No," she answered; "I never was. It's fine, ain't it?""Great! And then after a while we'll go forward to the dinner, and get a big lay-out. Fresh meal in the world. Charge a dollar. ""Oh, do they?" cried the bride. "Charge a dollar? Why, that's too much — for us — ain't it, Jack?""Nor this trip, anyhow," he answered bravely. "We're going to go the whole thing. " Later he explained to her about the trains. "You see, it's a thousand miles from one end of Texas to the other; and this runs right across it, and never stops but four times. " He had the pride of an owner. He pointed out to her the dazzling fittings of the coach; and i n truth her eyes opened wider and she contemplated the sea-green figured velvet, the s hining brass, silver, and glass, the wood that gleamed as darkly brilliant as the surface of a pool of oil. At one end a bronze figure sturdily held a support for a separated chamber, and at convenient places on the ceiling were frescos in olive and silver.To the minds of the pair, their surroundings reflected the glory of their marriage that mor ning in San Antonio: this was the environment of their new estate; and the man's face in particular beamed with an elation that made him appear ridiculous to the Negro porter. This individual at times surveyed them from afar with an amused and superior grin. On o ther occasions he bullied them with skill in ways that did not make it exactly plain to the m that they were being bullied. He subtly used all the manners of the most unconquerabl e kind of snobbery. He oppressed them. But of this oppression they had small knowledge, and they speedily forgot that infrequently a number of travelers covered them with stare s of derisive enjoyment. Historically there was supposed to be something infinitely humor ous in their situation."We are due in Yellow Sky at 3:42," he said, looking tenderly into her eyes."Oh, are we?" she said, as if she had not been aware of it. To evince (表现出) surprise at her husband's statement was part of her wifely amiability. She took from a pocket a littl e silver watch: and as she held it before her, and stared at it with a frown of attention, t he new husband's face shone."I bought it in San Anton' from a friend of mine," he told her gleefully."It's seventeen minutes past twelve," she said, looking up at him with a kind of shy and c lumsy coquetry (调情; 卖俏). A passenger, noting this play, grew excessively sardonic, an d winked at himself in one of the numerous mirrors.At last they went to the dining-car. Two rows of Negro waiters, in glowing white suits, su rveyed their entrance with the interest, and also the equanimity (平静), of men who had been forewarned. The pair fell to the lot of a waiter who happened to feel pleasure in ste ering them through their meal. He viewed them with the manner of a fatherly pilot, his c ountenance radiant with benevolence. The patronage, entwined with the ordinary defere nce, was not plain to them. And yet, as they returned to their coach, they showed in thei r faces a sense of escape.With social and economic development, our people have more time and money to visit famous sites of historical interest. Their visits, on the one hand,can enrich their own life and meanwhile bring the sites substantial incomes. On the other hand, too many visits, especially during peak travel peak when there are more visitors, have caused huge problems. One solution to this is to charge higher fees during peak travel seasons, which I think is necessary and I am in complete favor of this decision.As we all know, today there is no entrance fee charged for many parks in our country while almost all famous sites of historical interest still need an entry fee. Some people can not accept this for they think that both parks and famous sites of historical interest are part of public services. They should have free access to them or at least shouldn’t pay too much for the visit since they have already paid taxes to the government. Then it is far impossible for those people to allow the sites to charge higher fees during peak travel seasons.On the surface, the arguments that people opposing to entry fees charged for famous sites of historical interest hold seem reasonable. But in fact, those people have ignored the unique features of famous sites of historical interest which normally imply ample historical and cultural values. Those sites differ from common parks. The relics in these sites are precious and fragile to destroy, and usually need special and professional preservation and administration, which turn out to be an expensive exercise that constantly demands resources. Entry fees must be charged. During peak travel seasons, there is no better measure than raising the entry fees to reduce the number of tourists. The purpose of charging higher fees is t o stop some people’ visits so as to better protect the valuable relics and at the same time ensure the safety of the tourists. It is obvious that some people will give up their visits considering the higher fees. Here economic means are applied to conserve precious things at the sites of historical interest in an appropriate and sustainable way.In a word, due to the unique features of relics and the need of the sustainable protection of sites of historical interest, we must control the number of visitors, especially during the peak travel seasons when there are too many tourists, to diminish the impact of human activities on these sites to its lowest level. And charging higher fees during the peak travel seasons, an effective economic means of regulation will be of great importance.Passage Four (Examinations Exert a Pernicious Influence on Education)We might marvel at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were.It really is extraordinary that after all these years, educationists have still failed to device anything more efficient and reliable than examinations.For all the pious claim that examinations text what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite.They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability and aptitude.As anxiety-makers, examinations are second to none.That is because so much depends on them.They are the mark of success of failure in our society.Your whole future may be decided in onefateful day.It doesn’t matter that you weren’t feeling very well, or that you2014年专八考试答案653390834r mother died.Little things like that don’t count：the exam goes on.No one can give of his best when he is in mortal terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do.The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of vicious competition where success and failure are clearly defined and measured.Can we wonder at the increasing number of ‘drop-outs’：young people who are written off as utter failures before they have even embarked on a career? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself.The examination system does anything but that.What hasto be learnt is rigidly laid down by a syllabus, so the student is encouraged to memorize.Examinations do not motivate a student to read widely, but to restrict his reading; they do not enable him to seek more and more knowledge, but induce cramming.They lower the standards of teaching, for they deprive the teacher of all freedoms.Teachers themselves are often judged by examination results and instead of teaching their subjects, they are reduced to training their students in exam techniques which they despise.The most successful candidates are not always the best educated; they are the best trained in the technique of working under duress.The results on which so much depends are often nothing more than a subjective assessment by some anonymous examiner.Examiners are onlyhuman.They get tired and hungry; they make mistakes.Yet they have to mark stacks of hastily scrawled scripts in a limited amount of time.They work under the same sort of pressure as the candidates.And their word carries weight.After a judge’s decision you have the right of appeal, but not after an examiner’s.There must surely be many sim pler and more effective ways of assessing a person’s true abilities.Is it cynical to suggest that examinations are merely a profitable business for the institutions that run them? This is what it boils down to in the last analysis.The best comment on the system is this illiterate message recently scrawled on a wall：‘I were a teenage drop-out and now I are a teenage millionaire.’The main idea of this passage is[A] examinations exert a pernicious influence on education.[B] examinations are ineffective.[C] examinations are profitable for institutions.[D] examinations are a burden on students.The author’s attitude toward examinations is[A]detest.[B] approval.[C] critical.[D] indifferent.The fate of students is decided by[A] education.[B] institutions.[C] examinations.[D] students themselves.According to the author, the most important of a good education is[A] to encourage students to read widely.[B] to train students to think on their own.[C] to teach students how to tackle exams.[D] to master his fate.Why does the author mention court?[A] Give an example.[B] For comparison.[C] It shows that teachers’ evolutions depend on the results of examinations.[D] It shows the results of court is more effectise.Vocabularypernicious 有害的，恶性的，破坏性的knack 窍门，诀窍embark 乘船，登记write off 勾销，注销。